TOP ROW: Honeycomb of theca cells. BOTTOM ROW: Tissue after 48 hours and five days (Source: Brown University)

Artificial organ is able to nurture and mature human egg cells

The
first artificial
human ovary has been developed by researchers at Brown
University and Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island,
which could lead to infertility treatments for cancer patients and
advancements in fertility research.

Stephan
Krotz, the study's lead author and a Houston fertility doctor; Sandra
Carson, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Warren Alpert
Medical School of Brown University and a senior author of the study;
and their team have already developed/used a lab-grown ovary to
mature human eggs.

"An
ovary is composed of three main cell types, and this is the first
time that anyone has created a 3-D tissue structure with triple cell
line," said Carson.

The
artificial ovary was made by forming honeycombs of theca cells, which
is one of the three key types of cells in the ovary, that were
donated from patients ranging from ages 25-46. When the theca
cells grew
into the shape of the honeycomb, human
egg cells and clumps of donated granulosa cells were placed
in the holes of the honeycomb. Within days, the theca cells enclosed
the granulosa and human eggs, acting like a real ovary.

The
ovary is made functional by bringing all three ovarian cell types
together into a 3D arrangement, which is exactly what Jeffrey Morgan,
associate professor of medical science and engineering and co-author
of the study, was able to do using 3D Petri dishes made out of a
moldable agarose gel. These dishes are made specifically to help
cells gather into certain shapes.

After
much experimentation, the researchers found that the artificial ovary
was able to nurture and mature eggs from the early antral follicle
stage to full maturity.

"[This]
represents the first success in using 3-D tissue engineering
principles for in vitro oocyte maturation,"
said researchers in the journal article.

This kind
of research has the potential to preserve the fertility of
women about to undergo cancer treatment by freezing immature eggs and
allowing them to mature outside of the person in the artificial
ovary. In addition, having an artificial ovary helps researchers
understand how healthy ovaries work and investigate what kinds of
problems could lead to poor egg health and maturation.

Pretty much everything we identify as progressive "hurts" natural selection as we know it. Agriculture was a kind of 'new' technology, and had it been 'forgotten', the significantly less fit (and more sensitive ;) ) males would have found it nearly impossible to survive by hunting and their needs (amplified by the rampant consumption typical of the golden agricultural era which an apocalypse has unfortunately brought to an end) might simply not have been met by gathering fruits alone. I mean, imagine if a Hindu farmer had all his tools taken away and had only his own sacred cow to eat....his survival now jeopardised by his belief system or - you could argue - his now compromised emotional strength.

And just for fun, think how our acceptance of homosexuality 'hurts' natural selection. :) Or when we frown upon any kind of discrimination - be it disability, race, age or looks based!

But that's just the way it is; we are a unique species because social progress is just as important as (sometimes, more than) survival. In fact, it is utterly incredible - and in my belief, attests to our strength as a species - that we are not only bending the rules of natural selection (think of the many oddly-matched couples you've seen!) but when genetic tinkering becomes common-place enough, we would be directly challenging it! The human brain was not a mere step forward in evolution; I like to think of it as a way to accelerate the process of evolution - which first began by augmenting ourselves with tools and then machines - what is an automobile but a mechanical speed augmentation to a human being? How many millions of years would it have taken for natural selection alone to have created a variation of the human species capable of running long distances at 60+mph? In fact that question (although rhetorical) sounds idiotic right away!

'Fixing' flawed genes would finally bring the process full circle - in the mean time, we can rely on all other kinds of technology to push the species forward.

P.S:jedijeb wrote:"Maybe this is why so many of today's future doctors, physicist, chemist, computer engineers, ect come from developing countries instead of the most modern countries."

No, that is due to the social pressure of HAVING to find a job and get 'settled', and the resultant social encouragement to nerds and associated professions. :) The sports and arts scene in India is - really - pitiable. Emulating the Indian school system is the last thing Obama should be looking at - what we ALL need is a reasonable middle ground where science and technology is given just as much importance as the other right-brained (or all brawn) stuff.

I do agree though that kids in the west or rich kids in general ARE too coddled. I mean, landing up with a cold or severe rash after a little exposure to actual Indian conditions (not in an a/c room) is just...a little sad. That doesn't mean the actual 'slumdog' kids are doing peachy! I don't even want to look at their mortality rates. Once again, it's the middle-ground solution that would work for everyone (get vaccinations, but don't go nuts over them. Let the kids play around a little, get hurt, and build some resistance but don't neglect their health either!)